Tomatoes making their way to Europe via oceanic seed dispersal long before Columbus

Apparently, tomatoes first came from western South America, facing Pacific. You'd argue that it was cultivated in all central Mexico at least in the early classical times, but giving the few chances to have something crossing the Atlantic...
I'm not sure about tomatoes seed being resilient enough to sustain an oceanic dispersal, and while it's technically possible (with a great stroke of luck) to have birds doing a transoceanic crossing (there's some attested cases, although the birds were almost dead or outright dead) we're talking of something extremely rare and not really likely to have the desired effect.

That said, having tomatoes facing the Pacific could be a real interesting way to make the fruit avaible in the Old World : let's imagine that Polynesians having maintained (although long-range) contacts with South America and carrying tomatoes with them. With enough luck and exchanges, you could have tomatoes reaching China in the XIIIth century and thanks to renewed exchanges, maybe having it reaching Mediterranean Sea by the late XIVth century?
Of course, it would be better if Polynesian seafaring either developed earlier of more widely, with contacts in the Xth century, which would quicken the apparition of tomatoes in Near East before the Mongols conquests. I've no idea how to get there, tough.
 
Apparently, tomatoes first came from western South America, facing Pacific. You'd argue that it was cultivated in all central Mexico at least in the early classical times, but giving the few chances to have something crossing the Atlantic...
I'm not sure about tomatoes seed being resilient enough to sustain an oceanic dispersal, and while it's technically possible (with a great stroke of luck) to have birds doing a transoceanic crossing (there's some attested cases, although the birds were almost dead or outright dead) we're talking of something extremely rare and not really likely to have the desired effect.

That said, having tomatoes facing the Pacific could be a real interesting way to make the fruit avaible in the Old World : let's imagine that Polynesians having maintained (although long-range) contacts with South America and carrying tomatoes with them. With enough luck and exchanges, you could have tomatoes reaching China in the XIIIth century and thanks to renewed exchanges, maybe having it reaching Mediterranean Sea by the late XIVth century?
Of course, it would be better if Polynesian seafaring either developed earlier of more widely, with contacts in the Xth century, which would quicken the apparition of tomatoes in Near East before the Mongols conquests. I've no idea how to get there, tough.
Yes that sounds way more plausible.
 
Apparently, tomatoes first came from western South America, facing Pacific. You'd argue that it was cultivated in all central Mexico at least in the early classical times, but giving the few chances to have something crossing the Atlantic...
I'm not sure about tomatoes seed being resilient enough to sustain an oceanic dispersal, and while it's technically possible (with a great stroke of luck) to have birds doing a transoceanic crossing (there's some attested cases, although the birds were almost dead or outright dead) we're talking of something extremely rare and not really likely to have the desired effect.

That said, having tomatoes facing the Pacific could be a real interesting way to make the fruit avaible in the Old World : let's imagine that Polynesians having maintained (although long-range) contacts with South America and carrying tomatoes with them. With enough luck and exchanges, you could have tomatoes reaching China in the XIIIth century and thanks to renewed exchanges, maybe having it reaching Mediterranean Sea by the late XIVth century?
Of course, it would be better if Polynesian seafaring either developed earlier of more widely, with contacts in the Xth century, which would quicken the apparition of tomatoes in Near East before the Mongols conquests. I've no idea how to get there, tough.
Would there be many butterfly effects if tomatoes made their to the Middle East before the Mongols come over?
 
Would there be many butterfly effects if tomatoes made their to the Middle East before the Mongols come over?
I'm not sure : Tomatoes were first tought to be too sour, a strange texture and "disintegrated itself when cooked on Mediterranean customs), and possibly unhealthy. It was more or less was treated as a lower class food, as sauce mostly.
But they eventually were part of a general diet in Europe, without gaining much interest.

http://traditom.eu/fileadmin/tradit...ry_of_the_arrival_of_the_tomato_in_Europe.pdf
 
I'm not sure : Tomatoes were first tought to be too sour, a strange texture and "disintegrated itself when cooked on Mediterranean customs), and possibly unhealthy. It was more or less was treated as a lower class food, as sauce mostly.
But they eventually were part of a general diet in Europe, without gaining much interest.

http://traditom.eu/fileadmin/tradit...ry_of_the_arrival_of_the_tomato_in_Europe.pdf
It could ease the adoption of potatoes, if people was first introduced to another edible nightshade crop like the tomato.
 
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